Too Dangerous v2
by Olivia Dunham
Summary: Remus told Tonks that he was too old, too poor, and most of all, too dangerous. But she doesn't care - she never has. But will they be able to survive the events thrown their way together? Or will it end up destorying them both? Lupin/Tonks
1. Birthday Gone Wrong

_So, Immortali asked if I would write a sequel to Too Dangerous. The thing is, I'm already in the works rewriting Too Dangerous – which is what this is. But as soon as I'm gone making it better, I would be more than happy to write a sequel or two if you guys wanted._

_I wrote this story when I was an amateur at writing, but now that I've gotten better and meddled in a few other fandoms, I've come back to one of my favorite stories and am rewriting it to make it better. I hope to get reviews from old and new fans, and I hope everyone enjoys this! I am taking a bit different direction with this, but I still hope you like it! Also, this is completely AU, because it does not follow Deathly Hallows at all. Another thing – I kinda almost stole a scene from the Half Blood Prince movie in this first chapter, so, yeah._

_  
Without further ado, please read on!_

**XXX**

It was extremely hot and humid for the July evening as Arthur, Bill, and Charlie set up tables out in the garden, Fred and George chasing out the last of the gnomes that usually ran amuck through the tall grass. Ginny and Hermione sat on the old wooden fence at the edge of the garden, watching the proceedings as Harry and Ron carried dishes across the uneven ground, Fleur drifting along in her usual flowing manner behind the boys and carrying the silverware. They were setting up for Harry's seventeenth birthday, where more members of the Order were set to show up and help celebrate.

"Really Molly, its not a big deal for me to help!" Came a slightly putout voice, drifting out from the open kitchen window. "I can help!" The voice followed Molly out the door of the house as she walked behind several large dishes of food, having charmed them to float. The voice belonged to the currently dark-haired Auror following behind, attempting to balance a rather large basket of dinner rolls in her hands. She stumbled over the uneven ground after Molly, a large grin on her face as she managed to keep her balance up. At least until she tripped over what seemed to be air, and tumbled head first, sending the rolls flying as she hit the ground with an _'oof_!'.

"S'alright. I'm fine." She muttered and began to pick herself up off the ground, not really wanting to face what she knew would be a disapproving look from Molly. But when she did look up, the dinner rolls were floating in mid air as well as the basket, and were slowly beginning to pile back into the basket. She glanced around, finally spotting Remus, who was the one charming the rolls back into the basket. No one missed how Tonks's hair instantly went from the dark blonde to the bright, vibrant pink she normally wore. "Wotcher Remus." She grinned cheerily.

"Good afternoon, Nym - Tonks." He corrected himself, lest endure her wrath, even on Harry's birthday. She flashed a wide grin.

"Oh, er, thanks for that by the way." She added after a moment - she'd been staring a bit too long at him. He nodded, continuing to charm the basket all the way over to the table and setting it down before tucking his wand away in his robes.

"Not a problem." He gave a weak smile to match her own, before beginning toward the table. Others were appearing in the distance, just outside the magical charms that protected the Burrow from harm. Tonks finally made it to her seat - but only after nearly taking another tumble when the lace of her boot caught around a table leg. She glanced over at Harry as she sat down, who looked a bit too modest as he tried to tell Molly that all this work wasn't worth it. Tonks shook her head slightly, ends of her pink hair just brushing her shoulders.

"I was told to give you this, Tonks." Kingsley's deep voice said after they had started eating. He'd sat across from her; she looked up and took the folded note he was handing her, pulling it open and scanning it. Her eyes turned dark for a moment, before refolding the note and placing it in the pocket of her torn jeans.

"Excuse me a moment." She said quietly and got to her feet, ignoring Molly's questioning looks as she pulled herself from her conversation with Hagrid to watch Tonks walk across the yard, back into the house. She silently shut the door behind her. She shed her black trench coat and tossed it across the back of the couch as she darted up the crooked stairs, eventually working her way into the bathroom. She shut the door - this time not even bothering to be quiet about it - and collapsed on the edge of the bathtub. She pulled the note out again, staring at it for a moment before angrily ripping it up and tossing the bits in the floor.

Not moments later, there was a knock at the door. When she gave no response, it was opened, and Molly's head poked in to find Tonks laying in the bathtub, staring at the ceiling.

"What's the matter Tonks?"

"Oh nothing. Except I have nothing to live for now." She said morbidly, her attitude from downstairs having changed drastically from being bubbly, to being as lamented, as there was possible. Molly stared at her for a moment, trying to form the right words to say something before she disappeared. She was replaced by Remus, who stepped all the way into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it - which Tonks had neglected to do. He frowned, sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

"You want to share with me why you're in such a bad mood all of a sudden?" He asked quietly. She didn't look at him when she spoke.

"I lost my job." She said finally with a sigh. "Worst part about it is they couldn't tell me to my face, but fired me through a bloody note."

"Any reason why they'd fire you?"

"Something about me not doing my work properly." She muttered bitterly. Since when had she not done her work properly? Being an Auror was what Tonks lived for - she wasn't trained to do anything else for Merlin's sake. Sighing, she shook her head ever so slightly. "I think it's because You-Know-Who has people in the Ministry and they know I work for the Order, so they fired me so I wouldn't interfere at the Ministry."

"Well, that's an interesting theory." Remus replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. Tonks glanced at him, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

"Is it now?"

"Yes, considering we got word today that there is in fact someone inside the Ministry. We just don't know who - and Scrimgeour refuses to believe us." Remus continued, and the edges of Tonks's lips twitched, almost as if she wanted to say something, to turn her frown into a smile.

"Well, that just sucks for him doesn't it now?"

Remus got to his feet and extended a hand down to Tonks. With a sigh, she took it, letting him pull her up and out of the bathtub. _No sense in crying over spilled Butterbeer_, she thought to herself. She should have known it was coming anyway, with Voldemort getting closer and closer to getting into the Ministry. Kingsley was probably next, or even Arthur. There were not really any chances of stopping it, so she was going to have to suck it up. It's what Moody would tell her anyway. _Suck it up and get on with more important things. Constant Vigilance._

"Tonks? Are you listening to me?"

"Hm? Oh! Sorry, no. What was that?" She said quickly, Remus's voice having jerked her from her thoughts as they were heading back downstairs.

"Are you coming with Molly, Kingsley, and I to escort the children to Kings Cross?"

"Er, sure. No problem." She said, almost distracted. He frowned slightly, but nodded, letting her wander back into the living room silently, obviously still a bit upset about the loss of her job. But something was settling deep in the pit of her stomach – a feeling she didn't like. It was the feel of dread, an emotion that hardly came over her unless she was fighting a losing battle. A chill ran down her spine and she held back a shiver – she wasn't about to let Remus know something else was wrong, because she'd never hear the end of it. Of course, the change of her hair from the pink, into a jet-black color probably tipped him off. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him open his mouth, but turned toward him with a fake, cheery smile.

"I'm going for a walk. Tell Molly and the lot where I went – I won't be long." She said quickly, and before he could question her, she slipped out the front door. It was still sweltering hot outside, but the sun was starting to go down, which would be a relief from the heat. She reached up and pulled her hair through the hair band she usually wore around her wrist to keep it off the back of her neck as she walked, heading in the opposite direction of the Burrow. Just over the hill was the small town she could never remember the name of – maybe she'd pop down and buy Harry something for his birthday. She'd neglected to remember to get something for him.

She suddenly plopped down on the grass at the top of the hill with another sigh escaping her lips. She was more tired than she had first thought – after all, she'd been up for the past twenty-four hours, if not longer, doing various jobs that needed to be done for the Order. But in times like this, there was not much time for sleep. And by the looks of things, she wasn't getting any sleep anytime soon.

Tonks had just started to relax when she heard the terrifying laugh that send another chill down her spine. A streak of bright orange flame fell from what appeared to be the sky, an intense magical fire encircling the Burrow. She leapt to her feet and instantly went running down the hill, wand already drawn. There was another laugh – Tonks would have recognized the sound anywhere.

Bellatrix stood just outside the ring of fire, cackling. From her place on the hill, Tonks saw Harry's form dart toward Bellatrix, who had began to run, out into the fields that surrounded the Burrow. Once Harry had crossed the fire, the flames became higher, and even more intense so that no one else would be able to make it across. She ran the rest of the way down the hill, skirted around the fire, and followed Harry and Bellatrix into the field.

"Harry!" She called, nearly avoiding tripping over several rocks embedded into the ground. She could just see the back of the boy's head as he ran after her aunt, apparently still having that grudge for her killing Sirius. Tonks was pretty pissed and upset at her aunt for killing her favorite cousin, but that didn't mean she ran after Bellatrix like a bloody idiot, as Harry was doing now.

She reached forward, catching Harry by the back of his shirt and pulling him to a jerking halt. He struggled against her, angry.

"Let me go!"

"Harry! Stop it! You're going to get yourself killed! Then what use will it be to us having gone and protected you all this time!?"

It took a moment for her words to sink in, but apparently they did and he stopped struggling for the moment. There was another howl of laughter, this one a male voice. Streaks of black came from nowhere, landing in front of Harry and Tonks – there were now four Death Eaters standing in front of them, including Bellatrix. Her sister, Narcissa Malfoy, stood beside her, wand drawn, both of them facing Harry. It took Tonks a moment to recognize the two standing in front of her – Rodolphus Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback.

"Harry, I want you to run. Back to the Burrow." Tonks whispered as they stood together, back to back.

"I'm going to kill her." Harry hissed between clenched teeth and Tonks inwardly groaned – why did the Chosen One have to be such a stubborn teenager?

Then, everything seemed to explode. A spell was half out of Tonks's mouth when all four of the Death Eaters simultaneously shouted spells of their own, aimed at the two. Tonks shoved Harry down out of the way, hitting the ground on her back and briefly knocking the breath from her lungs. She scrambled back up quickly though, sending a spell flying at Rodolphus as Harry began to take on Narcissa and Bellatrix, mostly concentrating on Bellatrix. Greyback had suddenly disappeared back into the tall grass of the field.

"No Order to save you now!" Rodolphus hissed, and for the only time, Tonks forgot about Harry and began to envelope herself in her own fight with Bellatrix's husband. Thick ropes shot out from his wand and tried to wrap themselves around Tonks's legs.

"_Diffindo_!" She hissed and cut the ropes in half, stepping backward. Flashes of red and green caught her attention in the corner of her eye and she briefly glanced at Harry, who was defending himself rather well. All those years of Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed to have paid off. She turned back to her own fight, feeling a bit more confident as she did.

She screamed in pain as a set of claws suddenly raked down her back, slicing her shirt into thin strips and making long bleeding scratches in her back. Apparently Greyback had returned. She turned, her back throbbing in pain now as she send several curses at Greyback, all of which he deflected like it was nothing.

_"Stupefy!"_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_"Bombardum!"_

Her, Bellatrix's, and Greyback's voice all sounded at the same time, but neither spell hit. The thick ropes came from Rodolphus's wand again, and this time, Tonks didn't fight against them. The orange glow was disappearing from the horizon, which meant the fire was going down, and soon the others would be coming. Except they had no idea where she and Harry were among the many weeds. She pointed her wand to the sky and the large silvery wolf patronus she had developed shot from it, soaring over the grass and toward the Burrow. As she performed the spell, the ropes wrapped around and up her legs, tripping her as they continued to wrap up her body, pinning her arms to her sides. Greyback stooped and picked up her wand where she had dropped it, pocketing it for later with a grin.

The silvery patronus was easily recognized as it leapt over the last of the flames, landing in the center of Remus, Arthur, Molly, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They had just put out the last of the fire when the patronus appeared. It paused for a moment before it began back the way it came, leaving a silver trail after it. Remus instantly ran after it, closely followed by Bill, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George. They darted through the tall grass, barely able to see one another because it had grown dark. Only the flash of lights up ahead and the patronus kept them on track.

Remus sent a stunning spell at Rodolphus's back, and he didn't have time deflect it before it hit him in the back. He fell at Harry's feet – Harry was still trying to fend off Bellatrix and Narcissa. Seven different spells were suddenly aiming for the two sisters, but both were gone with a loud 'crack!'.

"Harry!" Hermione cried and grabbed him in a tight hug. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." He muttered. "Where'd Tonks go?"

"Tonks was here?"

"Yeah. She was fighting him," He pointed at Rodolphus. "And some other guy. He scratched the hell out of her back and then took her that way."

Remus was off in a second, it taking everyone else a few moments to realize what Harry had said, and take off after Remus. Hermione and Ron took Harry back to the house, as Bill, Fred, and George continued after Remus, following the way Harry had pointed. It seemed like slow motion as he ran, pushing the grass out of his way and trying desperately to find her. Greyback never was the most talented at magic, so there wasn't much of a chance he could have Apparated with her.

That's when the smell of blood reached his nose. His heart hammered in his chest as the rusty scent got stronger – behind him he could hear Fred and George making rather sick gagging noises. They could smell it too. And that was never a good sign.

He came upon the clearing with a sudden halt, splashing down into the water of the stream that ran through this part of the field. Tonks's body lay across the rocks on the other side of the stream, broken and unmoving, her pink hair stained red with her own blood. It almost made Remus sick as he crossed the water, ignoring the fact of his robes getting wet as he pulled out his wand with shaking hands, and ran his wand across her body – but the cuts and scratches weren't healing. A hand settled on his shoulder and he looked over to see Bill.

"Lets get her to St. Mungo's." He said quietly. Remus nodded silently, slipping his arms under her back and knees, lifting her out of the water. "Go back to the Burrow, tell mum and dad where Remus and I went." Bill said to Fred and George, who nodded, serious for once as they took off, back toward the Burrow. Bill took hold of Remus's arm as he held Tonks and turned on the spot, Apparating them out of the field.

**XXX**

_Reviews make me happy!_


	2. There's No Place Like Home

_All right, so I didn't get as many reviews as I hoped, but for thank you Hannah and __Alice Gwenivere__ for your review! And I see I do have some story alerts, so please guys, take the time to review. They make my day. Really._

_Also, was anyone else disturbed by the lack of Tonks and Lupin in the HBP movie?_

XXX

Tonks had never liked hospitals. She'd been exposed to both the muggle and non-muggle hospitals, and she didn't like either of them. Both had some sort of doctor or Healer, was too white for her tastes, and smelled like disinfectant.

_Get me out of here! _

She'd crumbled the _Daily Prophet_ up and it sat on the small table beside her bed in a black and white paper ball. She sat with her back up against the pillows, arms folded across her chest. She was well enough to leave wasn't she? After all, the Healer herself had said she had a clean bill of heath after they'd healed up the cuts and bruised bones. Except for a minor ache here and then, she felt perfectly fine.

So far, the only people to visit her had been Molly and her parents – according to Molly, Remus was upset over the face he'd let Greyback get to her. _Martyr_, she thought wryly. It wasn't his fault. Glancing around the ward, she sighed. The was no one else in the ward – they had put her away from everyone else in case she had accidentally been bitten, which, thankfully, she hadn't.

Without warning, Tonks was suddenly plunged into entire darkness. Her guards came up instantly, Auror instincts kicking in almost immediately. Fumbling in the darkness, she grabbed her wand on the table and slipped off the bed.

_Lumos!_

The end of her wand tip ignited, lighting up the ward. She could nothing but silence for a moment, before shouts, footsteps, and screams echoed from somewhere down below on the lobby floor. She clutched her wand tighter and edged to the door, peering out the small window in the door. Figures in black ran down the halls, sending spells flying. Great. The Death Eaters were trying to take over St. Mungo's.

Figures.

She waited for the coast to be clear before moving out into the hallway. Her wand tip still aglow, she could see down both ways of the corridors. Spells came from the end down by the stairwell, but she couldn't tell who was who from here, so it was no use in firing.

A jet of red light shot right by her ear, nearly burning the ends of her hair off. She turned quickly, shooting a Stunning spell at whoever had fired at her. A Death Eater she didn't recognize.

_Incendio!_

His robes burst into flames at her spell, instantly catching the attention of the other Death Eaters that had been down at the end of the hall. They came running. She ducked into the shadows, knocking the light off the end of her wand. When they were right on top of her, she fired and ran, not bothering to see if the spells hit or not. Her footsteps were louder than she would have liked as she ran, bare feet against the cold tile floor. Thankfully she'd been allowed to change back into the ripped jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing when coming in. A bit bloodstained, but it was better than the little gowns they put them in here.

"Get down!"

The voice came from the stairwell and a rough hand shoved her down, a killing curse narrowing missing her head. She looked up as she fought to clamber back up, after nearly falling down the stairs. It was Kingsley.

"What's going on?"

"Death Eaters!" He said and launched an orange spell down the stairs at approaching Death Eaters. Tonks jabbed her wand toward the Death Eaters coming down the hall.

"I got that much! What are they here for?"

"I'll explain later! Just keep your head down and try to get out and back to Headquarters!" Kingsley shouted over the explosions of spells hitting the walls around them, echoing all the way down the stairwell. "This is no place for someone who was just injured last night!"

"I'm fine!" Tonks insisted, and trampled down the stairs, firing curses in front of her as more and more Death Eaters began to pile up the stairs. There seemed to be a never-ending flow of them, coming more and more from the lobby. They'd apparently taken the direct approach and come through the front door. Well, window. Whatever you would call it.

_Bombardum!_

_Stupefy!_

_Avada Kedavra!_

Thankfully, being an Auror, she was allowed to use the Unforgivable Curses. Three Death Eaters went down in front of her as her spells hit each one of them, toppling them backward. She even went as far as to punch the next one in the nose, feeling it break under her fist. How many more could there possibly be? They just kept coming.

"RETREAT!" She heard Kingsley's booming voice from somewhere above – she'd made it down nearly to the first floor now. Her back was searing in pain – okay, so maybe she wasn't okay. Her side was beginning to hurt too, but she resisted the urge to double over and kept fighting.

"Nymphadora take my arm!"

She looked up – Remus stood on the landing above her, firing curses at the Death Eaters coming down the stairs. She hadn't noticed them before. She cast one last spell down the stairs before running up the stairs, only to end up pitching herself forward. She closed her eyes and waited for the hit, but Remus caught her by the arm. There was a tight squeezing feeling before they disappeared with a loud cracking noise.

Tonks fell onto the carpet at her parent's house, her leg colliding with something hard. She bit down hard on her lip, and it took her a moment to realize she was digging her elbow into Remus's side. He'd somehow manage to land beneath her. She pushed herself up, pain thrashing all through her back.

"You okay?" Remus asked as she looked down at him, her face inches from his. Her head spun, but she managed to nod. "Then why are you bleeding?"

"What?"

He removed his hand from where it had brushed against her back – her blood was smeared across his hand and fingers. She winced. So that'd what that pain had been.

Tonks lifted herself up, biting down hard on her lip to keep from wincing. She thought the scratches had healed, but apparently not. She used the arm of the couch to pull herself up before extending a hand to help Remus up. He in turn pushed her down on the couch to keep her from moving.

"Where are my parents?" She asked suddenly.

"Out. Your mother offered this place as temporary headquarters for the Order and she and your father went out to patrol. They and others will be back soon." He said. "Now lift your shirt."

"What?" She yelped and twisted to look at him as he sat on the couch behind her. She winced instantly.

"So I can heal the wounds." He said in that business-like tone he always used with her. She hesitated, but gently pulled her blood soaked t-shirt up. Remus muttered something behind her before she felt a cold sensation across her back – she assumed the wounds were healed. His fingers grabbed her shirt from behind and carefully pulled it back down for her.

"Thanks." She whispered and sat there for a moment before turning slowly to look at him. "Remus, I -!"

She was cut off as there were suddenly several loud popping noises, many people Apparating at once. Tonks reached for her wand, but noticed it was only other order members, including her own parents. Andromeda rushed forward and enveloped Tonks in a hug, Ted patting his daughter on the shoulder.

"What's happened?" Tonks heard Remus ask Kingsley quietly.

"Savage and Dawlish are both dead. The Carrows got them."

_So that's why everyone is so silent_, thought Tonks to herself. She pulled herself from her mother's arms and flicked her wand in a general motion – glasses of firewhiskey appeared and a glass went to each of them.

Andromeda was soon making sleeping plans. Her home wasn't as big as the Burrows, but she was arranging the furniture in the living room and in the guest bedroom for all of them to stay the night – most of them feared it wouldn't be safe to return to their own houses that night.

Tonks had locked herself in the bathroom again to get changed, and was brushing her teeth when she heard her mother and Remus's voice bickering in the hallway.

"Really Remus, its no trouble."

"I really should be going Andromeda. There's no reason to make such a fuss."

"Nonsense."

"You can stay in my room."

Tonks had opened the door just as her mother and Remus passed it, and instantly her cheeks went red. "I mean, there's not going to be any one else in my old room if you want to stay in there with me." She offered. She became aware of how red her cheeks were getting, how Remus seemed to stare at her in the pajama shorts and t-shirt, and her mother's expression without much thought.

"I really don't want to intrude -."

"Oh shut up Remus. It's the door at the end of the hall." Tonks said, and without another word, disappeared back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

When she did get back to her room, she tossed her blood stained clothes in the corner without much thought, but stopped when she saw Remus reclining in the floor beside the bed, eyes closed with his wand resting on his chest.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" Tonks asked as she clambered into her bed. Remus opened one eye to look at her as she leaned over the side of the bed to look at him.

"Sleeping?"

"Not on the floor you're not. Get up here."

"Tonks, I don't think -."

"I don't care what you think. I know you hate me for what I did in the hospital the other night when Dumbledore died, but I don't care. I don't bite, and that floor is bad for a person's back. Get up here."

"Nymphadora -."

"Remus. I will come down there and get you if I have to."

With a sigh, he finally pulled himself up off the floor. He stood there a moment as Tonks flopped back on one side of her bed. He slid into bed beside her, laying there awkwardly for a moment. She threw the blankets over both of them and rolled over on her side.

"You better not snore."

X

It seemed the middle of the night when Tonks awake, for the entire house was awake. Somehow in her sleep she'd managed to roll on top of Remus. She made to move and shift off him, but his hand caught her wrist. He locked eyes with him and he had his wand pressed to his lips, motioning for her to keep silent. With her free arm she wrenched around and grabbed her wand off the nightstand, glancing around. She couldn't see anything in the darkness of her room, but there was something there.

Something suddenly exploded downstairs, shaking the entire house. Someone screamed, and Tonks swore under her breath. Remus was up in a flash, wand out. Tonks was up too. She ran for the door, but Remus grabbed her hand.

"Wait."

"Wait for what? For them to come up here and kill us after they kill all our friends downstairs? Come on Remus!" She said in a violent, hushed whispered, meeting his soft amber eyes. Hers at the moment were a dark green, her hair a dark brown with undercurrents of red. He opened his mouth to argue, but let go of her hand and strode forward, peering out the door. The shouts had stopped downstairs.

"Wait here." He told her and slipped out the door. Tonks's jaw nearly dropped.

_What the hell? Am I not an Auror that can take care of her bloody self?_

She strode forward and grabbed the door handle and was about to jerk it open when Remus came back into the room, shutting the door and sealing it magically.

"We've got a problem."

"I can see that! What's going on?!"

"Death Eaters. Broke through the charms around the house. It looked like most of the Order had Disapparated, but they managed to get a few." He said quietly. Tonks looked at him, as if expecting him to tell her the names. "They got Charlie, I know that. I couldn't see one of the others, but the third was your father."

Tonks's hair went red. She made to move past Remus, about to go down there and start hexing Death Eaters into oblivion when Remus grabbed her and pulled her back again.

"Don't. There's too many of them. We have to get out of here without them knowing we're here. They've laid Anti-Disapparation wards around, but if we can make it to the woods behind here, we can Apparate somewhere safe."

"And how do we get out if they're downstairs?"

Remus paced a moment as Tonks stood there. They would be coming upstairs to check the rest of the house any minute. He paused.

"Brooms."

"We can't conjure anything – they've probably put some kind of ward that detects magic around the house too." Tonks pointed out.

"You have yours here don't you?"

"I have my old one." She said, creeping silently to her closet. She opened the door – it creaked and they both winced – and pulled her old Nimbus 2000 out. Remus looked at her and in a serious tone, spoke.

"You're going to have to blow a hole in your roof."

Tonks opened her mouth to make a retort, but then realized they wouldn't have time to try and fit through the window. She sighed and nodded – it could always be repaired. She handed the broom to him and he mounted it. She got on behind him, on arm around his wait tightly as the other arm held her wand out.

"When I say three, blast it." He whispered and she nodded. This was crazy, but they couldn't fight the group of Death Eaters downstairs on their own, especially when they held hostages. She aimed her wand as Remus counted off. Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

She sent the spell flying just as he kicked off the ground. Debris from the blasted room rained down on them as they soared up into the night air. Spells from the Death Eaters that had been patrolling outside shot up at them but Remus skillfully avoided them. Tonks looked down – Death Eaters were starting to make brooms of their own appear, the magic ward gone off the house. Tonks sent spell after spell whizzing after them, but they deflected it like it was nothing. Three of them rose up into the air behind her, and more were coming. She tossed more spells and they deflected them like nothing. It was harder to fight in the air than on the ground – the Muggles below probably thought it was some sort of light show filling the night sky.

_Multis Stupefy!_

Her wands sent out jets of red light like a machine gun, aimed for the three Death Eaters. She let go of Remus for a brief moment, long enough to use wandless magic to throw a ball of fire at one of them. She nearly fell, but grabbed onto Remus at the last minute. She'd taken down two, now only one more to go.

Until a dozen more rose up around them.

_Damn it!_

She was beginning to think taking them back at the house would have been easier. Remus was trying to avoid them, concentrating on flying as she attempted to fend them off. But every spell she was trying they were deflecting, and sending twice as many back at her.

Use it.

You can't use that type of magic!

Use it!

Her mind was having an internal battle with itself on whether or not to use the single spell that could take down any amount of Death Eaters at once. They'd taught it to her in Auror training, but it was an unstable spell – last time it'd been used in battle had killed fifteen Death Eaters and seven Order members. But it seemed her only hope now.

"Remus, hang on tight." She said. He didn't respond, but she thought she saw the tiniest jerk of his head.

_Fiendfyre!_

The fire shot from her wand like a missile, one stream, encircling them and spreading farther and farther outward, either pushing the Death Eaters back or catching them on fire she didn't know. As long at it helped. Remus looked surprised – apparently he hadn't known she'd knew that spell, much less capable of performing it. She could feel it physically draining her – doing spells like _Fiendfyre_ didn't come easy – and Tonks knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer.

When the fire disappeared, Tonks nearly collapsed, leaning against Remus to keep from sliding off the broom. The Death Eaters had gone, and she hoped they didn't come back, knowing she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight should they return.

She didn't realize she'd fallen asleep until Remus was gently shaking her shoulder. Her eyes flickered open and she was met with his tired features, a small smile on his face.

"We're safe." He said before she could ask. She sat up on the broom and nodded. The broom was hovering about three feet off the ground. Remus gently jumped down, extending his arm toward Tonks to help her down. She slid off the broom and into his arms, reaching up to grab the broom from the air.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"Not a problem. You did amazingly up there, by the way. Especially with Fiendfyre." He said and she smiled, flushing ever so slightly. "You must still be tired though."

"Just a bit." Tonks said with a small shrug, stifling a yawn. "I'll be fine. Where are we?"

"The Forest of Dean."

She looked around – trees surrounded them, early morning light filtering down from the branches above.

"Its one of the only safe places left. We can rest here, but we've got to go soon after." Remus said and sat down, his back against a tree. Tonks lay back against the tree across from her, stretched out to where her feet nearly touched his. Her hair had gone to a pale blonde.

"What are we going to do Remus? We're part of the Order of the Phoenix. I'm an Auror. We have to fight – we can't just run."

"I don't even know where to start. It's not we can waltz into the Ministry – its been taken over. And we can't go up to Voldemort and try to kill him."

"Get in touch with Kingsley or something!" Tonks said, a bit louder than she intended. "Remus my father is being held captive by them! He's a muggle-born so he's probably already dead!" The tears were falling before she could stop them. There was the rustling of leaves and the crunch of sticks.

_Bloody hell I've never been this emotional._

Remus sat down beside her and drew her gently into his arms. She buried her face into his jacket without a second thought, the tears flowing freely now.

"Its okay Dora." He said and stroked her hair. She looked up at him, sniffling, using her hand to wipe the tears off her face. Streaks of red covered the freckles that dotted her face now.

"Its not okay Remus. People keep saying that and its not. We're at war and either of us could fall down dead tomorrow. We're pretty much screwed because we can't even keep the Order of the Phoenix together!"

"I'll send a Patronus as soon as we get somewhere better than a forest." He said in his best comforting voice. It wasn't easy, looking into her eyes full of tears, but he managed to keep his voice steady. She'd calmed down a bit – at least the tears had stopped for the moment. The only sound was her sniffling and his steady breathing.

"I want to go home." She said, almost in a childish voice. "I don't want to be involved in this war. Sometimes I just wish I was a bloody Muggle." She continued.

"Well, if you were, then I'd probably never have met you, that day you came tumbling down the stairs and got us both locked in the closet." He said and she let out a watery laugh, wiping at her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm being such a baby." She sighed.

"We all have a right to cry." He assured. She gave a weak smile and reached down, taking his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. For once, he didn't pull away.

_Is he really coming around?_

"Remus, can I try something without you getting mad?"

"Go for it." He said, his eyes closed as he leaned back against the tree. Tonks chewed on her lip for a moment, shifting.

Then, she kissed him.

It wasn't much of anything, just a two second peck to the lips to see how he would react. He opened his eyes to look at her, his ambers meeting her soft blue ones. She looked almost afraid that he would get up and runaway, but he did the exact opposite.

He kissed her back.

"Why couldn't you have done that earlier?" She asked. "You told me you hated me that night after we left the hospital wing. Why now?"

"As you said – either of us could die tomorrow. Might as well die happy and take advantage of the time we have now."

XXX

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	3. Gone and Back Again

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**XXX**

When Tonks awoke, it was to the sound of Remus pacing across the forest floor, leaves and sticks crunching under his shoes. She yawned and stretched, flashing a smile which he did not return. Her smile faded into a frown as she picked herself up off the ground, dusting her pajamas off.

"Remus, what's the matter?"

"I have to leave."

"All right. Where are we going?"

"Not you Tonks. Just me. I have to leave."

She frowned deeper, hair flickering red for the brief moment.

"Where?"

"Back to the werewolves. Away from here." He paused. "Away from you."

She took that as a low blow. This time, her hair stayed red. But she didn't cry or begin to fight like he assumed she would. He stopped his pacing and looked at her, standing there, almost helpless. He felt horrible. Horrible for what he was doing now. But it was to protect her, and keep her safe. The full moon was only a few days away anyway.

"Remus." When she said his name, it was soft and very hoarse. "Remus if you don't want to see me again, say it."

He couldn't bring himself to say it. He just couldn't.

Without another word or glance in her direction, he Disapparated, leaving Tonks to stumbled and fall back to the ground, her legs unable to support her anymore. She didn't cry, but her eyes became misty. In frustration she picked up her old broom and threw it against a nearby tree, watching as it smashed nearly in half.

It was then the tears began to fall freely, rolling down her pale cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing on the ground.

Far away, Remus appeared in a dingy alleyway in the worst part of London. He hit his fist against the brick wall, angry at himself for doing that. He loved her and he knew it, but he wasn't about to admit it and get her in trouble. Not more than what she was already in.

Getting a hold of himself, he took out his wand and tapped it twice on the brick he'd just been trying to hit, and it faded, revealing a door. He entered and shut it behind him.

"Well, well, well. Look who comes back crawling on all fours? Looking a bit worse for wear there eh, Lupin?"

Remus looked up at the man leaning against the wall of the long hallway. At the end of the hallway was a set of stairs that led up, guarded by another man.

"Hello to you too, Milo." Remus said quietly.

"Finally coming to join us?"

"I'm coming to stay for a while. Sort things out."

"Right then. Go on up." Milo replied and Remus nodded his thanks, continuing down the hall. The man at the end stepped out of the way and let him pass up the stairs.

At the top, it was decorated like a fine hotel. The large space had been compacted in the tiny, run down building. Other werewolves reclined everywhere, playing pool, enjoying a smoke, whatever the hell they wanted basically. Among them, was Greyback. He turned slightly, cigar in hand, flashing his yellow teeth. He seemed much more relaxed than he had when attacking Tonks a few nights ago.

"Hello Remus, old friend. How's the lady?"

"Greyback. She's doing fine, not that it matters to me." He said, swallowing back the bile that came with the words. It killed him to say them.

"Oh? You and her got into another one of your tiffs?"

"She hates me and I hate her." He muttered. "Is my room still empty?"

"Of course. Its always-empty Lupin, in case you return to us. Have you come back for good this time?"

"No. I just need to sort things out." He said quietly. Greyback shrugged.

"Whatever Lupin. Have fun. And don't worry – she wasn't all that pretty anyway." He added and went back to his game of cards. Remus's fingers twisted into a fist, but he didn't say anything, simply began up the several flights of stairs that led up to the rooms of the many werewolves that stayed there. Greyback was such an annoyance. Although he did fight with the Death Eaters, he wasn't fully on their side, which meant Lupin could still come and go freely, even if they did fight against one another. Greyback viewed werewolves higher than any Order of the Phoenix or Death Eaters, so any werewolf on any side could come find a home with him.

Remus took the stairs up to the third floor, and followed the hallway all the way down to the room on the left. It wasn't locked, but magically sealed with a combination that only he knew. He waved his wand across the doorknob and it clicked, allowing him to push open the door and shut it silently behind him.

The room wasn't anything fancy, with off-white walls and dark brown furniture. A dresser was pushed up against one wall, the bed on another. There was a small window that overlooked the street below. The carpet was a bit shaggy, but it would do. Setting his wand down on the dressed, he crossed the room to the floor by the window. Reaching down, he pulled up the section of carpet with ease, to reveal the hard floor beneath. He removed the panel of hard floor as well, and pulled up a small brown box. Replacing both floors, he sat down on his bed with the box. It'd been on Sirius had given him, but inside, a collection of things he'd managed to get over the years.

A postcard from James and Lily on their honeymoon, a picture of Harry on his toy broom as a baby, his mother's engagement ring, and a picture of the Order from the First War. Buried beneath it all was the pink haired doll dressed in black robes Tonks had given him when he'd first gone to live with the werewolves.

_So you'll always have me with you._

Remus held the little doll in his hands for a moment – part of him wanted to fling it against the wall. But yet, he didn't, and continued to stare at it, unsure of what to think.

X

It would be three weeks before he would even consider going back.

He'd been staying quietly in his little room for the past three weeks, and only went out at night, and only if he had to. He was still beating himself up. The full moon had come and gone, and would be coming up again in another few weeks. He'd been debating about giving Tonks a visit, but she probably never wanted to see him again.

Though that didn't stop him from giving a letter to her mother to give to Tonks.

He appeared in the woods outside her house, hoping the Death Eaters had left. Apparently, they had, because he couldn't see any life whatsoever inside the house, even in the broad day light. Still, his wand was at his side. Glancing up, he saw the whole in the roof had been repaired.

Approaching the backdoor with his letter to Tonks safely in his pocket, he raised his wand to the door.

_Revealio._

There were no magic wards on the house, so he opened the door quietly and looked around. The kitchen looked like it had before the Death Eaters had torn it apart, as did what he could see of the living room. So apparently Andromeda was here. Or someone else.

A jet of red light suddenly shot by his ear and he ducked, holding out his own wand. A pale woman stood on the stairs, her dark, unruly hair sticking out in several odd directions. On first glance it appeared to be Bellatrix Lestrange, but Remus realized it was in fact Andromeda.

And she had her wand pointed right at him.

_Oh crap._

"Andromeda, it's me! Remus Lupin!"

"Prove it!" She all but shrieked.

"I am part of the Order of the Phoenix, was the secret keeper for Number 12 Grimmauld Place since Albus Dumbledore was murdered by Severus Snape, and your daughter is crazy about me – for what reason I'll never guess."

"Good point." She said, and without warning, fired another spell at him.

"Don't you believe me?!" He cried, deflecting it.

"Of course I do. Which is why I'm going to curse you into oblivion for hurting my daughter like you did." She replied in a rather oddly calm voice.

"I didn't mean it. I was coming back to give this letter to you to give to her, telling her I'm sorry." He said and Andromeda glared at him.

"I don't know where she is."

"What?"

Andromeda growled, and crossed the room, picking up a paper as she did. She thrust it at him, pointing her wand at an article and nearly burning a hole right through the paper.

"Read that and you should understand."

Grateful she wasn't cursing him right now, his eyes drifted down to the page.

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX ALL GONE

According to sources inside the Ministry, it's been reported that the last of the Order of the Phoenix has been taken into custody for plotting against the Dark Lord. There are rumors that there are one or two still in hiding, but it seems all their hopes have gone. We haven't seen any part of them since the fall of Albus Dumbledore, and it's not likely they're going to try anything with their numbers so low.

He stopped reading, and looked up at Andromeda, whose eyes had misted over.

"Tonks – They caught her?"

"No. She's in hiding. I know that they haven't caught her yet because I still get her Patronuses. She, you, Kingsley, and a few of the Weasleys are the only ones left now." Andromeda whispered in a shakey voice, her cursing on Remus having been forgotten. "I'm worried for her Remus. She was so broken when she came here after you left. She wouldn't come out of her room for weeks. Wouldn't eat. Anything."

"I'll find her." Remus promised. "And I'll make sure she's safe. I'll keep her safe, Andromeda."

"I'm not sure she'll let you." She continued. Remus opened his mouth to reply, but a silvery Lynx Patronus soared through the open backdoor, landing between him and Andromeda. It opened its mouth and spoke in Kingsley's voice.

"Remus come quickly to Shell Cottage. Go by Floo from wherever you are. Kingsley."

And it disappeared.

"He sounded worried. You better go." Andromeda said, and literally began to drag him toward the fireplace. Remus could have sworn she was what the Muggles called bi-polar. He briefly wondered if the Floo networks were being watched, but apparently not much anymore. She opened a dark purple bag laying on the mantel, holding it out for him. "Promise me you'll protect her Remus. Don't leave her broken like that."

"I promise." He said quietly, and took a handful of Floo powder from the bag, stepping into the fireplace.

"Shell Cottage!"

The emerald flames erupted around him, engulfing him. There was the usual floating feeling that came with Flooing, and soon he had stepped out of the fireplace into a very pristine and clean living room.

"Remus! There you are!" Bill Weasley said. Fleur was standing by his side, looking very worried, her hair windswept.

"Aren't the networks being watched?"

"Only the networks going into the Ministry. They aren't watching home-to-home Floos right now." Bill said. "But I'm glad you're here. You've got to talk some sense into her." He began, leading Remus out the door with Fleur trailing behind. It was late afternoon now, and he could hear the ocean in the distance. There were cliffs to one side of the cottage, but they were still far off. Even from here, he could see several figures standing near them.

"Talk sense into who?" Remus asked as they headed toward the cliffs at a rapid pace, even though Remus had the sinking feeling he already knew who Bill was talking about.

"Tonks. She's lost it."

"What do you mean?"

"She came here a few days ago with Kingsley. They've been on the run together for some time now. She can't morph anymore, and last night seemed to send her over the edge."

"What happened last night?"

"She got confirmation that her father had been murdered. And it was rumored that you'd been killed too – we tried telling her it wasn't true, but she wouldn't believe us." Bill continued. They'd almost reached where everyone was standing, and he could make out the people. Fred, Charlie, Molly, and Kingsley. They were more inland than the fifth person – Tonks. She was standing on the very edge of the cliffs, facing away from them all and looking as though she were about to jump any moment.

"She's been out here all afternoon and we've been trying to coax her away from the edge. She won't listen." Fleur said quietly. Remus stood still for a moment, watching her long brown hair whip about behind her. It was back to her original hair color, the color she'd been born with.

He was a bit of afraid of approaching her, for fear of startling her and making her fall anyway. And if she thought he was dead, she'd probably jump on her own because she'd think it was her mind playing tricks on her.

Kingsley suddenly shot a spell at her, thick ropes extending from his wand. Without even turning she made a slicing motion across the air and the ropes broke, disappearing. Okay, so maybe magic wasn't going to work. He'd have to do it the old fashioned way.

Quietly, Remus suddenly passed between Molly and Kingsley, both who looked at him, puzzled. He continued quietly, sneaking quietly up on her. Hopefully he'd be able to grab her before she heard or sensed he was coming up behind her. His feet were silent on the grass as he walked, wand at the ready in case she tried to slice him or something.

He was two feet behind her when she suddenly whirled, wand pointed at him. Her eyes went wide when she spotted it was him, and her wand lowered for the briefest of moments. Confused and afraid, she took a single step back.

Unfortunately, that step was enough.

Her scream rippled through the air as she disappeared from view. Remus darted forward instantly and grabbed her by the wrist, landing hard on his stomach and knocking the air out of his lungs. Tonks's scream abruptly stopped when he'd stopped her from falling – she looked up, dark eyes shining with tears.

"I thought you were dead."

Then Fred and Charlie appeared on either side of Remus, and began to help pull Tonks back up. She collapsed on top of Remus, breathing heavy.

"Tonks!" Molly cried and rushed forward, grabbing her by the arm, helping her to her feet and crushing her into a tight hug. Remus picked himself up off the ground, his heart hammering hard in his chest. For a moment, he'd thought she was gone.

_And I would have jumped right after her._

It was then he came to the startling realization that he loved the pink haired woman in front of him.

When Molly had let go of Tonks and was cupping her face, saying something, Tonks had assured her she was fine, and then turned to Remus. Quietly, she spoke.

"You're okay."

"Of course I am." He whispered and pulled her into a hug of his own. She buried her face in his chest, reveling in his touch as she cried, sobbing into his shirt. "You don't know how afraid I was when I saw you on the edge of that cliff Dora. If you would have fallen – or jumped – I would have jumped right after you." He said, his voice a bit shakey. She looked up at him. Without even thinking, he leaned down and pulled her into a kiss. Her arms snaked around his neck and when they broke apart, she hugged him again.

Once everyone had been assured Tonks was not going to jump and that she and Remus both were fine, they'd began to file back in. The sun was going down as Tonks and Remus made their way back to Shell Cottage – which had become the temporary hide out of the Weasleys, Kingsley, Tonks, and now Remus – hand in hand.

"I have something to show you." He said suddenly, and dug into his pocket. He pulled out the little pink haired doll as they walked and Tonks grinned, using her sleeve to wipe the last of her tears off of her face.

"You still have it?"

"Of course. I'd never lose it." He told her and her smile, if possible, got even bigger. He pulled a second little doll out of his pocket, this one with shaggy dark brown hair, holding it out to her.

"So you'll always have a piece of me with you." He smiled as she took the doll. She leaned up and kissed his cheek with a small laugh.

"Thanks." She said and held the little doll tight in her hand. The words she really wanted to say were in her eyes.

I love you.

**XXX**

Review PLEASE! Yes, I'm begging.


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